An Overview:

Every room has a story, a color psychology, a mood and an emotion attached. The color of the room walls, furniture and upholsteries together play a vital role in lifting mood and bringing peace, happiness and energy. One of the most crucial elements of interior design is color. It is selected based on the usage and versatility of the room, location, theme in mind and belongings. If planning to renovate your home or build a new one, prepare the colors wisely. 

Importance of Colors for Interior Designing 

Color is the most integral aspect of interior design. It can set the tone and ambience of a space and impact the senses, moods and emotions. When choosing colors for a living space, it's essential to consider the room's purpose and utility.

Bright, warm colors such as shades of red, orange, and yellow stimulate energy and delight. The cool, subdued colors, like shades of blue, green, and purple, are soothing and heart-melting. Bright, warm colors are best in dining rooms, kitchen and pantry, and in recreation rooms. Subdued and soothing colors are good for bedrooms, study rooms and even restrooms. 

Understanding Colour Psychology

Comprehend the concept, objectives and logic of the psychology for choosing color schemes for a house. The interior design of a home showcases a plethora of moods, mindsets, and personalities. The study and analysis of how colors impact human emotion, behaviour and perceptions are broadly termed as color psychology. 

Color can also be used to alter the apparent size or proportions of a space. Colors can make small rooms appear bigger and sprawling rooms appear smaller. 

It can visually decrease the height of looming high ceilings or increase excessive low ones. It can fade into a sombre room or make a shiny bright room feel cosy and comfortable.  Color can add and highlight the focus of the decorative theme, or it can be used purely as a backdrop on the walls.  


Colour perspective sketches and elevations are useful for judging the impact of colour choices.  Mood boards work as a comprehensive collage of colour swatches, material samples, themes, sketches and styles that make the designer assess the importance of illustrated materials. 


Working with Color Psychology in Designing a Home

While designing a home, a designer needs to use the various facets of color psychology concepts to decide on the color theme and shades of different rooms. Most professionals take the help of a color wheel to decide on the color scheme. 

The colour wheel is a tool used by skilled interior designers to create colour schemes and coordinate colours in a living space. It is a visual and comprehensive representation of the colours of the spectrum arranged in a circle. It is a beneficial tool which is used by designers to understand the relationship between colors. It depicts a linear spectrum of visible light of vibgyor and connects with the ends of the line to form a circle.  


The colour wheel is divided into three categories: primary, secondary and tertiary colours. By understanding and analysing the primary, secondary and tertiary colors, and the relationships between them, interior designers can create color combinations that are aesthetically lucrative and emotionally robust. Let us take a glance to understand how the various colors impact mood and can be placed in the house wisely.

Understanding the Emotions of Every Color for a New Home 

Take a quick look at the list of 11 colors that impact human mood, psychology and emotions. 

Red

One of the most popular mood-enhancing colors is red. This is associated with energy, vibrancy and passion. This color generates strong emotional outflow and stimulates the senses. It is responsible for generating excitement and ambition. While planning the interior design theme of a house, this color can be used in the kid’s room or as a feature wall in the living or bedroom to break the monotony of soothing colors and to bring in energy and vibrancy. 


Brown

Brown is a universally preferred color and comes with an earthy or natural tone. It has a tender and soothing essence and can be used in a variety of spaces. The natural tinge of brown makes it universal and versatile and can be used in sprawling areas to match up with other elements. The color brown tends to soothe the senses. Moreover, in combination with vibrant tones and other natural shades, brown can iconise resilience and security.

In case of interior design and plan, if there is a kitchen constructed with white and subtle blue MDF boards; you can use brown open shelves to complete the cool and trendy look. 

Yellow

It is needless to say, that yellow is a happy, positive and vibrant color. It brings in delight and warmth and initiates hospitality. Designers prefer to use it in spaces that require a boost in energy, like the entrance, lobby, passage or hallways. The shade is also often seen in kid’s rooms or study rooms to boost energy and optimism. It is an integral part of the color scheme if the interior design is based on a minimalist or Bohemian theme. 

Orange

The color of orange is jovial, fierce and lively. It displays optimism and happiness. It is also associated with energy, creativity and warmth. So, interior designers often suggest this for kitchens, kid’s rooms, play areas and entertainment rooms. When designers are planning a restaurant set-up, orange is their go-to option. The color evokes social mingling and hunger- both needed for a successful food business.

Blue

This colour is linked to serenity and stability. It brings in calmness and soothes the mind and body. Whenever there is a bedroom interior design planning on the cards, the color blue is preferred overall. It is also a favourite choice for restrooms. As per color psychology, blue helps to relax the mind and bring down levels of hypertension, rapid heart rate and blood pressure. 

It plays a vital role in the mind. Designers believe that various subtle shades of blue have healing effects on the mind. If you are mentally disturbed, try blue walls, and upholsteries to generate mental wellness. The color also depicts luxury, divinity and elegance. It makes up for the best modern theme of interior design of a trendy house. 

Green

Balance, sense of calm, tranquillity and harmony are portrayed with green. Professional designers suggest this color in puja and meditation rooms and also in spa centres, where people go seeking peace and relaxation through meditation and therapies.

Purple

Purple and its various shades, namely mauve and lavender, are associated with creativity, spirituality, elegance and luxury. Mostly seen in dressing rooms, art studios and meditation rooms; this color is also seen in teenage girl’s rooms. 

Pink

Universally, the color psychology of humans associates pink with feminism. Designers suggest this color in the rooms, dressing rooms and play areas of baby girls and teenagers. It evokes a sense of soothing heart, peace and happiness. 

Grey

There is a myth that grey is a color of indecisiveness, confusion and anxiety. On the contrary, many talented and experienced designers use this color to mark style and elegance. The living space with grey-tone furniture, wall paint and motifs, and upholsteries make it visually aesthetic, elegant and super stylish. 

White

White is a primary color and showcases peace, calmness, purity and universal love. The modern trends of interior design prefer white walls, doors, furniture and upholsteries. The subtle yet sober look is the talk of the decade. Moreover, white represents freshness. If you are planning a minimalist interior design, white is the ultimate choice. 

Black

Black as a color represents elegance, style, simplicity and versatility. When paired with red, yellow, white or blue; it makes up for a trendy interior décor theme. It plays a vital role in controlling emotions and lifting moods. 

Conclusion

Color psychology is the study of various colors in depicting human emotion, mood and views. Interior designers work with the concept of color psychology to design various rooms or commercial spaces to make them functional, modern and cosy. There are quite a few renowned interior design agencies like White Horse Spaces, which use the color wheel to understand the relationship between different colors before putting them into the master design. Launched in 2019, this Bangalore-based interior design company; White Horse Spaces specialises in turnkey projects of home renovation, and interior design of residential and commercial places. If you are planning to renovate your home or redo the newly bought house, connect with White Horse Spaces for the ultimate interior design experience. 


FAQs


  1. What is color psychology? 

Color psychology is the study of how different colors impact human mood, emotion and behaviour . It showcases how colors can connect with emotional overflows, as well as how responses to color are impacted by factors such as age and cultural background.

  1. Why color is important in interior design?

The choice of color is a very crucial thing in interior design. It has the power to evoke emotions, lift moods, and create a harmonious ambience. From the soothing and subtle shades of blues to vibrant yellows, each color tells a unique story.

  1. What is the significance of blue in interior design?

Blue represents a soothing, calming and relaxing feeling. Whether you opt to incorporate it in subtle shades or make a bold feature wall, this versatile color will transform the space into a haven of tranquillity seamlessly.